Every once in a while, someone comes into your life and leaves a lasting impression on you. Whether or not they are in your life for 20 minutes or 20 years, they completely change you.
I have met people who have done that just but the one who touched me the most was a Bassett Hound named Clementine.
Clementine came into my life on June 9, 1987. I was 9. The breeding family raising her decided to sell her when a complicated birth required Clementine to be spayed.
On the day we met, my father and I took her for a walk and already my protective instincts were kicking in. I knew I had to have her.
A few days later we did. Oh I was so excited!
Bing/Excited
I laid out a blanket complete with a treat and a doggie toy. She went for the treat…go figure!
Clementine was famous in our family for eating a whole loaves of bread and half a chocolate cake. The most interesting thing about these incidents was that she actually pulled back the plastic just like a real person would!!
However my mother and I will never forget having to rush her to the vet after she ate a whole bowl of Hershey Kisses, foil and all.
One thing you had to remember was not to bother her whenever she was sleeping or she would growl. We were reminded from time to time but Clementine rarely bit.
In general, Clementine was a very good dog, affectionate and playful. I came home from school sick and she laid on the couch with me, laying her chin on my knee. She always seemed to know when there was something wrong and tried to make things better.
Bing/Bassett Hound
Like any other animal owner, we considered Clementine a member of the family. There wasn’t anything we wouldn’t try to do for her.
Clementine was always doing the funniest things. While we were having supper one night, my father discovered she was sitting right beside him, just staring! I mean, she wasn’t even blinking!
There’s one incident that particularly stands out the most to me…
One day Clementine was sniffing behind the toilet and got stuck! It took a lot of pulling and grunting but eventually she was freed. In mid 1995, Clementine began having trouble breathing and developed a hacking cough.
After numerous tests it was revealed Clementine’s whole heart was enlarged.
Bing/Bassett Hound
She was on too much medication for kennels to keep her so our family didn’t see us too much but thankfully they understood.
Around Labor Day 1997, Clementine had a heart attack while out in the backyard. She managed to crawl back inside and died in front of the coffee table.
I remember how brave my father was that night. He called the family to announce Clementine’s death. He was so calm and strong on the phone but afterwards, Dad broke down.
Clementine’s death tore me apart as well. I must’ve cried every day for two weeks straight. I felt like half of me died right along with her. She was the only dog, I’d ever lost.
Pets are our very best friends and confidante’s, they’re our FAMILY. I miss Clementine and think of her often. She’ll forever be apart of my heart.
R.I.P Clementine ❤️
Do you have a pet that you loved and lost?
Share your story below, I’d love to hear about it!
Amy is a resident of Florida. Since 2006, she has been self-employed in the dog care field. In May 2017, she self-published a memoir titled “I Am Not Stupid” which is available through Amazon. She writes for seethegoodinfo, an inspirational website and the Learning Disabilities Association’s newsletter LD Source.
photo above courtesy of bing/activitiesforchildren
Well, if you’re a parent anddddd if your kids were home this summer like mine was; then I know for a fact that you’re more than ready – you and your refrigerator that is; for the kids to GO BACK TO SCHOOLLLLLLLLLL!!!! Please!! – I mean I honestly feel like starting a protest at each one of my kid’s schools to demand that they not only stay open ALL. YEAR. ROUND. but that they’ll also provide breakfast, lunch and a snack while they’re at it. The reasoning for their “at home stay” is really my fault because I literally feel as though, I’m always the last parent on earth to try and get my kids into a camp every year – well, not really…..it’s just that they’re either:
Now that the 2017-2018 school year is over, kids of all grades are going to be entering the 2018-2019 year in about a month and a half from now. While most will be hesitant to step back into the school world; others will be excited to go back and get the year started – YAY!!…..But what type of mindset will this year be for our kids – while us parents will have some responsibility for that; it’s up to our kids overall to decide if they will push themselves to success or as the song says “lean back” and let the chips fall where they may.
Because after all, we all have CHOICES!!! & So does our kids!!
Last week for our weekly bible class talk, I began to talk to my children about “Affirmations” and speaking things that they feel they are not into existence/a belief that they could be. (Romans 4:17), now whether you’re religious or a believer or not; I feel as though our kids have the ability to speak “good things” over their lives or situation no matter how small or tall they are.
I began to tell my children about Octavia E. Butler – in which I talked about in this video. She had a mantra “So Be It, See To It” Google, did a doodle of Butler on June 22nd to celebrate what would have been her 71st birthday.
Octavia E. Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006)
Curious as to whom this African American woman was (please don’t judge me if you’re a Butler fan) – after a little research I came across a journal entry that Butler penned in which she “manifested” “I Shall be a Bestselling Author”, “My books will be on the bestseller lists of the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and etc.” she went on to declare and state that “This is my life, I write Bestselling Novels” “My books will be read by Millions of people” notice that she didn’t think or say “I want to or I believe” she made it known that those words weren’t in her vocabulary as they were replaced by [ctt template=”8″ link=”H5564″ via=”yes” ]”I Shall & I Will. So Be It, See To It!![/ctt]
And this was before she became famous! She knew what she wanted and stuck to her guns – this Affirmation of course didn’t come easy, she worked diligently on her craft daily before the crack of dawn until she went off to work, in which she labored as a dishwasher and then a potato chip inspector; all while working on the career she so desired in the background. Needless to say, Octavia E. Butler; whom suffered from dyslexia – went on to become the first African American science fiction author whom was very well respected in her field. Butler produced over a dozen novels, received numerous awards all ranging from 1980-2012. Her books were indeed read by millions of people, just as she penned in her journal.
Now you may be saying – “What does all of this have to do with back to school?” well, to get back on track – I began to tell my kids to manifest what they wanted their school year to be like. If they felt as though they didn’t have the best year last year; then to “declare and speak” what type of school year they wanted to have this year. As I told them, there really is power in the tongue – whatever they speak or think about themselves, their school year or their life will either move them into success or push them backwards.
Just as Octavia Butler penned, we too can pen our destiny – declaring what we want our destiny to be is one thing – working on it is something different. In order for Butler to manifest what she wanted; she had to “See To It” being done.
So, I gave my kids a homework assignment for our next talk and that was to write down a couple of Affirmations they wanted to see for themselves going into this school year. An assignment that once completed, they’ll read aloud to me. What they don’t know is that, this will be their morning anthem for the rest of the school year.
Would you like to do this activity with your children?
This can be a fun project for all to get involved and do, including the parents as you may have a couple of affirmations you want to write on your own (it’s never too late!)
If you have small kids, ages 5-8
Then you can get them some construction paper and let them write out what they want their school year to be like, they can color it and/or make it their own piece of artwork. You can get it laminated and hang it on their wall or a place in which they’ll have to see or pass by every day.
If your children are older, ages 10-17
Then they can write out their mantra on notebook paper or however they want. The thing is allowing them to be creative with their own project as they’ll be more apt to look and/or follow through with it because it’s what they created. Same thing as above, they’ll place it where they can see it every day.
The goal of affirmations is to speak them over your life every single day, but we know kids and that may not be a practice that they’ll get used to doing overnight. However, keeping them hung in a place where they can see them will help them stay focused on their goal and the positive choices they want to see during the new school year.
Listed below are some affirmations to give them a head start, but feel free to allow them to come up with their own…(that’s what makes it really special)
I am a leader
I am a great kid
I can make healthy choices
I will be a great student
I am one of a kind
I will succeed in school as well as life
I will make good grades
I have the knowledge to pass every test
I am smart
I am handsome/beautiful
I love ME!
I MATTER!
I am good enough
I am unique
I can and will make friends
I will make a difference
It’s okay to not know everything – I’m still smart!
I am Brave
I am Strong
This will be the best school year yet!
I will not let fear keep me from being great!
Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
This topic was submitted by Mariss B – IG Follower
Sooo, I have to be honest – this post was a bit of a challenge. No, it’s not because I don’t have friends or family but it’s because – If I can be honest, I just recently like maybe, two years ago if not sooner – started having true friends in which I hang out and do fun stuff with. In school I was always a loner, I didn’t have friends, as I was classified as the weird, quiet girl who never looked up at anyone. Don’t get me wrong, I had people I talked too but as far as them hanging out with me – That was a BIG NO! So, I’m not the girl with the story of having a bestie from birth or since kindergarten and here we are 20yrs later and still friends – I’m sure that’s someone’s story, it just didn’t happen that way for me.
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”
This is the all so famous bible quote located in Galatians 6:9, this is also the scripture God brought to my mind one day when I deliberately told myself “I GIVE UP!!!” literally wanting to throw in the towel on parenting one day as I became frustrated with repeating the “same” thing over and over and over and over and over again, to my two children. I heard God speak so calmly in my spirit “Don’t be weary in well doing”
Like, Really God – You’re Punking Me Right?? How many times do I have to ask them to clean their rooms and wash the dishes and take out the trash and wash their clothes and to keep their mouths closed at school when they want to abruptly speak out of turn – because if I get one more note from the teacher, I’m going to SCREAM!
But on the later end of “Don’t be weary, is ——– you will reap, if you faint not! Well, something tells me I better reap something because this sista is on her last fuse…
As a parent you’ll have a rainbow face by the time your child reaches 18.
You’ll Have WHITE moments, RED moments, BLUE moments, YELLOW moments and GREEN moments. You’ll also have ORANGE moments in which you’re confused and trying to figure out if you’re doing the right thing or not, you’ll question yourself many, many, many times. You’ll make mistakes, you’ll say things you don’t mean. You’ll become too overprotective and you’ll learn to let go when you need too. Letting Go, doesn’t mean you’re giving up on them, it just means you’re giving them room to grow, room to plant their own seeds based on the decisions “they chose” to make.
About a month or so ago, my teenage daughter made a decision that totally blew me away. After all the talking and grinding and trying to push her in the right direction from silly mishaps, I get a call from the principal stating “Ms. Blackmon, I need to talk to you – your daughter is suspended off the bus for three days because she was caught kissing a boy.” I was totally confused….are you talking about my daughter?, surely he dialed the wrong number..
But NOPE! he really did mean to call me and YES, he was talking about my daughter – I have to say, I heard him talking but soon his voice became a murmur; sort of like those Charlie Brown episodes, because all I could see was black. When I got off the phone with him; I was sooooo hurt, I had to take a time-out and get myself together – being called on your job for something like that doesn’t make for a good rest of the day. As I left my desk, with tears flowing down my face – the only thing I could see was me wringing her neck, slapping her and locking her up to never come out of her room again….I MEAN NEVER! As my mind went back and forward about the fussing and cussing and beating I wanted to do to her (mind you, I do not curse – but I can’t say words weren’t’ coming to my mind during that time) I realized that I needed to talk to someone and not just anyone – I had to talk to her creator – God.
Luckily, I didn’t have to stay at work all day that day as I had a doctors appt. previously scheduled; so I was leaving early anyway…Thank God for small favors…
When I left my appointment, It was still early….the only thing I could think of was calling everyone and let them know what she had done, but before I could pick up the phone and make one call, I heard God’s voice say “Before you talk to anyone, Talk to me first.” So, wanting to be obedient, I went to Taco Bell – ordered something small to eat and sat down “Okay, God; I said…what do I do, how do I handle this. While I proceeded to eat my food and once I finished, God began to download things within me of how I should punish her and what she needed to do during the punishment; even the things that I needed to talk to her about.
After all, what I had to realize was that my daughter – while I birthed her; was not really “my” daughter, she’s God’s child whom is on loan to me. God entrusted me with her and therefore when it comes to the challenges of dealing with such circumstances, he’s the first person we should go to and seek in regards to their life – because, father knows best.
Tip 1: As parents, its our job to make sure we tell our children the truth with transparency; hey, if you got caught kissing a boy or making out with a girl in school, tell them that as well as what you learned from it and how the affects of such can lead to other unwanted things and/or actions. At the end of the day, when it comes to our children, it’s what we DID say as opposed to what we DIDN’T.
Tip 2:No matter how “good” our intentions are for our kids – giving them God’s word regarding certain issues such as sex, lying, bad behavior and so forth in their life is all we can do. While we don’t want them to suffer, experience or go down the same road we did – we have to realize that they’re going to do life the way they want, sometimes it’s not going to work until they experience it for themselves.
It’s just like if you keep telling a baby to not touch the stove because it’s hot, you can make all types of noises to distract that baby from going near that stove, but it’s something about curiosity that gets people in trouble. Soon, one day while you’re not around; that baby crawls over to the stove and touches it anyway….they cry in pain because you were right, the stove really was hot. Now, they know for themselves not to touch that object anymore because they have experienced the effects behind it, that’s why the word says “Warning before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18)
So, to sum up the tips – We have to make sure we’re warning our children about everything – punish when needed, squeeze those hands tight in prayer and hope for the best.
The main thing is letting our children know that every bad decision, leads to a consequence. The bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he’s old, they won’t depart from it.”Prov 22:6. Not to say they won’t stray, but the seeds you planted in them will begin to sprout at the right time when they need it the most. Parenting is no easy feat. but if we know whom to give them over too, we shouldn’t be weary because not only will we get valuable instructions, but if we stay the course – no matter how hard or trivial – the water of your words will water those seeds and produce a great harvest that’ll pay off greatly one day – my fingers and toes are crossed, but my hands are definitely closed tightly in prayer for that PAYOFF!
Cheers and Best Wishes to all parents whom are desperately waiting for that day as well! DON’T BE WEARY – YOU GOT THIS!!
You Get My Drift!!! #PayDay!
Do you have teens or any parenting tips that has helped you? Leave them in the comment section below, you never know whom you may be helping.
Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
A Blog, A Magazine. It's JustsumInspiration! 
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